OMG only 3 more months or even less! I am soooo excited. Here are some plans for this year:

~Growing starters from seed on my front porch. It's not heated, so I think I'll have to bring them in at night. So maybe a pain in the butt. Perhaps I'll end up setting them up in my bedroom. ~A variety of winter squash, just in case those dumb vine borers come back. Apparently they don't love ALL squash so maybe there will be some survivors. Also, wrapping the base of the vine in something (tin foil?) to keep the little mustards away. ~LESS CHARD. Chard was once my favorite green. I must say, last year's chard invasion killed that love just a little. ~FLOWERS! I always forget to plant flower seeds until it's too late. I also have a butterfly tree I want to grow.~More heirloom tomatoes. I had so much fun with all my tomatoes last year. I'm excited to add even more. ~A watermelon. I really wanna grow a watermelon. ~Broccoli. I'm going to experiment with broccoli again. Perhaps in a different spot in the garden. ~ I have this one area against the fence where I think I'm just going to try a bunch of stuff and see what works. Eggplant, peppers, maybe even corn!

Other than that I'm excited to just grow my usual suspects. Last year taught me the beauty of carrots and I learned which peas were my favorites.

~LESS CHARD. Chard was once my favorite green. I must say, last year's chard invasion killed that love just a little. .

ha! this year i decided less red russian kale (which doesn't grow too well here anyway).i did plant lots of chard this year, and i have a watermelon and pumpkins in the yard going as we speak but my real pride is....the chickpeas! i just planted them but so far the foliage is purty!oh, and the artichokes.this year i'm trying red bulgarian peppers. they are just flowering now so we have yet to see how successful they'll be.

My garden is very prone to flooding so I need to get my whole garden torn up, french drains put in, the garden levelled off then slabs put down. Down the sides I am going to get raised beds and grow herbs in them (lot's of cilantro because I use bushes worth of that) and then another raised bed down the back part. Not sure what is going in that yet but I'm pretty sure kale needs to go in there. All that is going to cost me a fortune to get done so I don't have high hopes for me growing anything much in 2013.

- Keep the chard and arugula going. Unless they died while I've been on vacation. I have exactly the right amount of both to sustain me while not driving my family crazy.

- do some lettuce. Not a micro greens mix. That was sort of a disaster in 2012, I ended up with all these plants I couldn't recognize and then some were weeds and yeah. I'm just going to do something easily recognizable this time.

- the kid really wants to do carrots. I'm debating starting them from seed or just getting a plant.

- more tomatoes at tomato time.

- garlic?? I hear this is so easy to grow.

- maybe tarragon.

- I too would really like to do a melon but it would take up a ton of our limited full sun space.

My main goal is to find a house with a decent yard for gardening! And then I have to start all over. It's scary. I wish I could just airlift my garden out of here.

_________________"The Tree is His Penis"

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear

At the end of last summer I moved into a rental house where we are encouraged to garden. We're planning on building raised beds. I'm going to grow a double row of sunflowers along the fence in our backyard for privacy from the park that's on the other side of the fence. It's awkward hanging out back there sometimes. I really want to successfully grow Brussels sprouts, beets, basil, butternut squash and zucchini. And some flowers. I planted 3 hydrangea plants last year against our house.

I'm going to grow a double row of sunflowers along the fence in our backyard for privacy from the park that's on the other side of the fence. It's awkward hanging out back there sometimes. .

I have sunflowers against my front gate for this reason, but you have to be on top of it because they don't last long- when the big ones die, the new ones might not sprout where you're at (too cold) so in winter you might end up with a big bald spot. My mom put in some quick growing bamboo for just that purpose (thin bamboo) and within a year or so it was a good privacy builder.

This year I'm going to grow stuff again, I skipped 2012 because I was too lazy to start on time.

Tomatoes for sure, and then bell peppers, and I want to try lettuce and spinach again, which failed every time. I only can grow stuff in pots on the balcony, so I have to limit myself. If I manage to convince the bf to let me use some of his yard, then I can go wild with zucchini and broccoli and cauliflower.

_________________I dunno, I guess I just get enthused over eating big ol' squishy balls. - Interrobang?!

My main goal is to find a house with a decent yard for gardening! And then I have to start all over. It's scary. I wish I could just airlift my garden out of here.

this! i'm hoping we wont's still be here for gardening season, but at the same time, i don't want to have to start a new garden all over again. and i already planted my garlic so i'm going to be pissed if my dumb neighbors get to eat it.

i'm still starting seeds in a couple months. if we move and don't have anywhere to plant them, i can bring them to my dad's and put them in his garden. and then he will send me pictures of him and my stepmother eating all my tomatoes : /

_________________I'm one of those vegans that cuts corners when it comes to things like breastfeeding and stabbing you in the face~PranjalThat story would be adorable if it didn't end with herpes. ~Mo

I don't think I'll be able to garden this year. Our current house's garden is so infested with ivy that it's been impossible to grow anything and we're moving soon because the house is mouldy with damp and might not have a garden in the future. Maybe some tubs and potato towers but that's it. Plus I have black thumbs (as in the opposite of green fingers).

I'm going to grow a double row of sunflowers along the fence in our backyard for privacy from the park that's on the other side of the fence. It's awkward hanging out back there sometimes. .

I have sunflowers against my front gate for this reason, but you have to be on top of it because they don't last long- when the big ones die, the new ones might not sprout where you're at (too cold) so in winter you might end up with a big bald spot. My mom put in some quick growing bamboo for just that purpose (thin bamboo) and within a year or so it was a good privacy builder.

Thanks! That's good advice. I just want to be able to sit on a chair in the backyard in the summertime and read without feeling conspicuous. I may ask my landlord his thoughts on a bamboo garden in the backyard though. It's a shared space with my landlord's kids, he might like some privacy for them too.

I am only going to have pots on a balcony this year, so I'm planning on lots of herbs, a cherry tomato plant, a chili pepper, and some flowers. I only got one flower last year, and it made me feel so cheerful, so I definitely need more this year. I'm hoping my rosemary plant survives the winter... It has started to get brown leaves, and wasn't getting enough sun where I was. Then I moved to this place with all this eastern and southern light, and it's rained for a week. Poor thing is really struggling.

_________________But if one were to tickle Pluto, I suspect that it might very quietly laugh. - pandacookie

55k usd is like 4 cad or whatever equivalent in beavers you use on the island - joshua

#1 is figure out how to keep the dogs out of the garden. Once the plants are growing its fine but as soon as I plant anything they get in there and great crazy. 9 strawberry plants were killed this month alone.

Also, maybe I could mix artichokes in with them. Those get pretty tall and can handle our winters.

Sunflowers are allelopathic, meaning that they produce biochemicals that discourage other plants from growing near them. The flowers also track the sun, so if the fence is on the South side of the property, they will face away from you - pretty for the people in the park; not so much for you! Another planting option for a quick screen would be Scarlet Runner Beans. They grow fast, hummingbirds love the flowers and (my opinion) they are one of the tastiest green beans when young and produce decent dried beans too. They'll grow as tall as your fence plus more!

_________________Formerly Kaleicious. I still love kale, but no more than lots of other garden greens too! Orach is currently my favorite.

*An entire bed of kale (well, almost, one row of lettuce). We both eat so much kale it just makes sense to produce a lot. Might be giving some away though ;)*An entire bed of root vegetables - last year our root veggies did not do well, and that's insane, because it's portland. So we want to make a good bed with good soil and focus a bit more on these guys. Beets, carrots, onions, potatoes - garlic and possibly asparagus will be in the same bed.*Zucchini, cucumbers, and possibly pumpkin.*Tomatoes! Planting a full bed this year with taller cages and in a sunnier spot. *Possible corn in front of the house - might also be peas.

We're going to do more to make tending the gardens easier, like digging out the grass around the beds and covering with mulch. Also planting marigolds.

Inside I want to finally get my windowsill herb garden going along with some green onions in a mason jar :)

_________________"The time has come," the Walrus said,"To talk of many things:Of shoes, and ships, and sealing-wax,Of Capsicums & Things."

*An entire bed of root vegetables - last year our root veggies did not do well, and that's insane, because it's portland. So we want to make a good bed with good soil and focus a bit more on these guys. Beets, carrots, onions, potatoes - garlic and possibly asparagus will be in the same bed.

I've read that asparagus takes, like, 4 years to really come in the right way and be harvestable. Just forewarning, in case you didn't know! My parents grow asparagus and have a completely separate bed for it, so it doesn't get tilled like their other beds do. Also, root veggies like somewhat sandy soil. Soil with lots of clumps or clay can inhibit the growth of the root. Also, overfertilizing root veggies can cause their tops to grow like crazy, but keeps the roots all sad and not awesome. Good luck with your awesome-sounding garden!

_________________But if one were to tickle Pluto, I suspect that it might very quietly laugh. - pandacookie

55k usd is like 4 cad or whatever equivalent in beavers you use on the island - joshua

I only have a balcony. I tend to get all gung-ho to plant and then forget about it by the time it's too late - but gonna keep it managable this year, while still checking things off my to-do list. a. Successfully complete a growing season - motivated by An Illustrated Guide to Growing Food on Your Balcony by lara lucretia mrosovskyb. Start composting via a balcony composter. c. Grow Nasturtium flowers and harvest the seeds into capers. d. Grow herbs and make herbes Salees.e. Begin growing ginger.

*An entire bed of root vegetables - last year our root veggies did not do well, and that's insane, because it's portland. So we want to make a good bed with good soil and focus a bit more on these guys. Beets, carrots, onions, potatoes - garlic and possibly asparagus will be in the same bed.

I've read that asparagus takes, like, 4 years to really come in the right way and be harvestable. Just forewarning, in case you didn't know! My parents grow asparagus and have a completely separate bed for it, so it doesn't get tilled like their other beds do. Also, root veggies like somewhat sandy soil. Soil with lots of clumps or clay can inhibit the growth of the root. Also, overfertilizing root veggies can cause their tops to grow like crazy, but keeps the roots all sad and not awesome. Good luck with your awesome-sounding garden!

Thanks for the tips! Yah, last year our garden had a lot of clay-like soil, and the carrots were very odd shaped, trying to grow around the clumps. Didn't know that about fertilizing though, thank you!

_________________"The time has come," the Walrus said,"To talk of many things:Of shoes, and ships, and sealing-wax,Of Capsicums & Things."

I'm going to grow a double row of sunflowers along the fence in our backyard for privacy from the park that's on the other side of the fence. It's awkward hanging out back there sometimes. .

I have sunflowers against my front gate for this reason, but you have to be on top of it because they don't last long- when the big ones die, the new ones might not sprout where you're at (too cold) so in winter you might end up with a big bald spot. My mom put in some quick growing bamboo for just that purpose (thin bamboo) and within a year or so it was a good privacy builder.

Thanks! That's good advice. I just want to be able to sit on a chair in the backyard in the summertime and read without feeling conspicuous. I may ask my landlord his thoughts on a bamboo garden in the backyard though. It's a shared space with my landlord's kids, he might like some privacy for them too.

be careful though. make sure you sink a deep ring of something around the bamboo to make sure it doesn't spread where you don't want it to. (it's pretty invasive)

we just planted 2 plum trees, 6 boysenberries and replaced 2 of our sickly blueberries with more hardy ones. i'll soon be starting a ridiculous number of chamomile plugs to replace the grass on our lawn.

1. more fruit trees! I only planted peaches when I bought the house, because I didn't think I'd stay in it more than 3 or 4 years. Now it looks like we're staying a while, so I want more fruit trees! Low-chill apples, pomegranate, citrus (I just bought a Kaffir lime tree 25% off!)2. more aggressive composting. I have a separate bin for dog/bunny poo (to go on non-edibles) and a separate bin for the garden. The bin with the poo is the most successful - I really wonder why people throw it in the trash! 3. more aggressive weed control. I'll try filling up empty spaces with radishes or mulch.4. better time-management. I work 2 full-time jobs (only one pays me!) so the garden gets overlooked. By the time I think to go out there, it'll be 100º. So I want to make a plan/habit of going out in the early mornings before it gets face-melting-hot outside.5. I bought this super cute 5 year gardening journal from Herbivore - I've started updating it, and I love it. So goal 5 is to update the journal and/or update my gardening blog. Just keep track of what happens in the garden, learn from past mistakes, etc.

This thread gets me so excited for spring! We just had the most ridiculous snow storm yesterday. There's about 4 feet of snow covering my whole yard. I can't wait for it all to melt so I can get started.This year I have my seed order list that needs to be cut down because there's nearly $100 worth of seeds. I want a cherry bush too- it's a tree that over the years was made to grow as a bush instead and produces a huge amount of cherries. And more fruit plants in general- blueberries, blackberries, maybe raspberries. Currants would be nice too. I have plans for another raised bed in the front yard, which will leave me with minimal amounts of grass left there. Just enough to fit the lawnmower between beds. I also want to be more aggressive with backyard composting. We have municipal composting here, so most of the time we're too lazy to sort between the two and it all goes into the municipal bin.I want to try asparagus this year- I know it takes years to produce, but I still can't help but want to try. Is it worth it?